In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries prices fell as the minutes strengthened the view the central bank would not raise rates this year. It last stood at 120.02 yen, down 0.2 percent on the day.
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Following Asia’s mixed performance, spread-betters forecast a flat to modestly higher open for Britain’s FTSE, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC.
Expectations of continued USA monetary easing, at least for now, were seen as bringing investors back to selected emerging markets.
“However, the fact that the bulls have to rely on what was once deemed to be “emergency” measures to go higher should actually be reassuring to the bears”, he said in a note to clients.
Elsewhere, India’s Sensex was up 0.6 percent, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite index was rallying 1.7 percent, Malaysia’s KLSE Composite was gaining 0.9 percent and Singapore’s Straits Times index was up 1.4 percent, while the Taiwan Weighted closed half a percent higher.
The greenback hit 1.5350 against the pound, a level unseen since September 23.
“One of the two big persistent concerns has faded, so investors are taking risks”, said Masashi Oda, senior investment officer at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, referring to expectations of a near-term Fed hike.
Chinese stock markets, which have been hit by wild swings in recent months due to growth and policy worries, rallied after re-opening following an extended break since the end of September.
The Bank of England’s monetary policy decision and the minutes of the European Central Bank’s September meeting, as well as the start of the US third-quarter earnings season could garner attention during the course of the day.
If the Fed minutes, which will be released later today, reveal that the Fed’s FOMC is cautiously optimistic over the future outlook, then the Dollar could get a breather.
At its next meeting on October. 30, the BOJ is expected to cut its long-term economic and price projections.
Also mildly supporting the market, twelve Pacific Rim countries including the United States, Japan and Canada reached the most ambitious trade pact in a generation, though a few analysts say the benefits are far from clear.
Wall Street had already risen on Friday, and S&P index futures signaled further modest gains later on Monday.
Asian stocks hit a seven-week high on Wednesday as a pick up in oil prices boosted resource shares and emerging economy currencies, with sentiment also helped by South Korea’s Samsung Electronics issuing better than expected profit guidance.
Global crude benchmark Brent was up 0.4 percent on Tuesday at $49.42 a barrel after soaring 2.3 percent overnight, led by a rally in USA gasoline and Russia’s willingness to meet other major oil producers to discuss market conditions.
The dollar against the Euro became weak at about $1.12, as the traders moved back the expectations of a rise in Federal Reserve rate till next year.
The dollar index.DXY, which tracks the USA currency against a basket of six major rivals, was up about 0.1 percent at 95.595, in the middle of the 93.718-96.700 range in which it has traded since late August.
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The greenback dipped 0.1% to 119.84 yen, down from the week’s high of 120.575 on Tuesday.
